


Cat and Mouse

by End_Transmission



Category: Five Nights at Freddy's
Genre: Child Death, Implied/Referenced Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-19
Updated: 2020-02-19
Packaged: 2021-02-18 22:41:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22801024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/End_Transmission/pseuds/End_Transmission
Summary: A little boy meets a funny, Candy-giving robot. When the boy finds out that the robot has secrets, he becomes dangerously obsessed with discovering them.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 26





	Cat and Mouse

**Author's Note:**

> CW: Implied child death

Joshua Davis _loved_ Fredbear's Family Diner. Unlike most of his friends, he'd only found out about the place a year or so ago, but he'd gone many times ever since. He liked the pizza, he liked the cookies, but he liked the animatronics most of all. 

Many of his friends said that the animatronics were lame now - that everyone knew Fredbear and Spring Bonnie had been much better than the four that took the stage now. 

"Fredbear ate a whole kid!" One of his friends had exclaimed, "How can you get any cooler than that?" 

But Joshua didn't think that was very cool. Actually, it sounded really scary - he, for one, was glad that he had never met the two old animatronics. He liked Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy. He liked Freddy the most. He also very much liked their smaller robotic companion. 

Its name was Candy Cadet, and it did exactly like its name described. It gave out candy. You could put in a Fazcoin and get a piece of candy in return. Even better, it was _good_ candy. It wasn't the cheap stuff one might find in a dispenser in the grocery store. No, Candy Cadet gave out Skittles and Airheads and Reece's Pieces and, if you were really lucky, it might even give out _Twix._ The candy was what Joshua liked the most, of course. But everyone said that Candy Cadet also had _secrets._

"If you're really lucky," another friend had said, "he'll tell you a _story._ " When their group of friends had all laughed, he'd stomped his foot. "No, it's true! It happened to my cousin! She said one day he told her this really weird story about kittens and a snake! Stop laughing, you guys!" 

Joshua had taken the story with a grain of salt, at first. But then, one afternoon, he stopped by Candy Cadet on his way out of the restaurant. He fed the machine a Fazcoin like usual and it went through its normal spiel and spat out a piece of big league chew. And then, just as Joshua was getting ready to walk away, the robot _continued._

"Return to Candy Cadet again, and maybe I will tell you a story?" It said. Joshua had immediately begged his parents for another handful of Fazcoins and had used all of them on Candy Cadet. But the robot didn't even say the line again - he simply gave out more candy. Joshua had left disappointed, and more curious than ever. 

Over the next few trips to Fredbear's, Joshua spent a lot of Fazcoins on Candy Cadet. He returned, as asked, over and over again - but the robot never did tell him a story. Joshua knew that the story wasn't even likely to be all that interesting, he knew he was wasting his time, but he was obsessed. He'd had a taste of something _weird_ , and he wanted to follow it to its conclusion. 

One day, he was standing in front of Candy Cadet, near tears with his frustration, when a large hand settled on his shoulder. Joshua turned around, then immediately pulled back, startled. It was Spring Bonnie - well, no, it wasn't _exactly._ His friends told him Spring Bonnie had been locked up with Fredbear after the bear had eaten that kid. _This_ was a mascot - an adult in a suit. The wide-grinning, stitched up rabbit often wandered the restaurant, handing out free tokens and taking pictures with kids. But he'd never spoken to Joshua before. 

"You know," The Spring Bonnie man said, "I hear Candy Cadet only tells stories to brave little boys and girls who come and see him after dark."

"Really?" Joshua asked. 

"That's what I hear," the Spring Bonnie man repeated, "here, have some tokens." He held out a hand and, when Joshua did the same, spilled some Fazcoins into the boy's hands. Then he patted Joshua on the shoulder, turned, and all but skipped away. Once he was gone, Joshua turned back to Candy Cadet. 

He could be brave.

And so Joshua made a plan. He waited until night fell and his parents were sound asleep, and then he snuck out of the house. Fredbear's wasn't very far, and Joshua knew how to use a bus. Sure, the somewhat scary looking adults on the bus gave him odd looks, but no one really bothered him. Before long, he was dropped off much closer to Fredbear's and made the rest of the trip on foot. 

It wasn't until Joshua was in front of the door that he realized he may not have thought this all the way through. The restaurant was sure to be locked - he wouldn't be able to just break in. That was like a real crime. To his surprise, though, the door opened easily when he pushed on it. He was able to enter the restaurant with no problem. 

It was much creepier at night. It was dark, and the shadows in the corners were long. The main stage curtain was open, and Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica were sitting on it, slumped over just a little. They gave Joshua the creeps like that, so he did his best to just ignore them. 

Candy Cadet, however, was as welcoming as ever. His colorful body was brightly lit, and the two glowing antennas on his head made Joshua think of fireflies. The little boy hurried over to the robot and dug out the Fazcoins he'd stored just for the occasion. He popped one in - Candy Cadet spat out a Twix and said his usual lines. Once it'd finished, Joshua waited with his breath held and eyes wide. 

"Once upon a time, there was a little mouse," Candy Cadet continued, and Joshua gasped in delight. "This little mouse was very curious, and loved cheese more than anything else in his little world. His mouse friends had once told him that the farmer's cheese was the best cheese in all the land - deliciously creamy and so good it'd make you happy for the rest of your life. But, they had warned, it was far too dangerous for a little mouse to try and steal some of the farmer's cheese. For the farmer had a big, quick cat who would catch and eat any little mouse that wandered too close. But the little mouse could not stop thinking of that delicious cheese. He wanted to know if it was as good as his friends said. He wanted to be happy forever. So though he tried to ignore his own desires, eventually that little mouse gave in. He snuck out of his home, slipped into the farmer's kitchen, and spotted that big, quick cat."

And then Candy Cadet stopped. Joshua let out a noise of despair and grabbed the little robot by the shoulders. 

"Wait, then what happened?" He asked, "where's the end of the story?!" 

"The end of the story," another voice - deeper, adult - spoke. Joshua spun around with wide eyes, terrified of being caught. When he turned, Joshua met the wide-grinning face of the Spring Bonnie man. 

"Is that the cat catches the little mouse."


End file.
